Department for Transport

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2017 to Question 118502, what the estimates used by his Department as determined by the Office of the Rail Regulator for the current control period are.

Jesse Norman: Full track access charges are published by Network Rail on the following website:https://www.networkrail.co.uk/industry-commercial-partners/information-operating-companies/cp5-access-charges/ The difference between the average maintenance cost per mile of track applied by Network Rail to franchisees operating electric trains and bi-mode trains for the control period in question indicated that track maintenance costs were expected to be approximately 11-12% higher than electric trains of the same design. The final track access charges relating to the Intercity Express Programme trains will be published by Network Rail in due course.Whilst heavier than the electric Intercity Express Programme trains the bi-modes are still lighter than the High Speed Trains they are replacing which means less track wear and damage with lower operating costs – a benefit to the taxpayer. Through the use of bi-modes we can improve journeys for passengers sooner and reduce the need for as much disruptive engineering work.

Department for Transport: Equal Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to transparency data, DfT's gender pay gap report 2017, published 18 December 2018, if he will break down the pay gap data for median, mean and bonus pay by (a) grade and (b) profession.

Jesse Norman: Information on the Department for Transport’s gender pay gap for mean and median pay by grade is published by the Office for National Statistics in tables 32 and 33 respectively of the Civil Service statistics publications at https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/civilservicestatistics. There are some minor differences in the scope between the ONS and GEO calculations, which can cause differences in the overall figures. The information on bonus pay by grade and the mean, median and bonus pay by profession is not readily available and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Visits Abroad

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which overseas trips Ministers of his Department have made since July 2016; and what were the costs of each such trip.

Jesse Norman: Details of overseas trips (including total costs for Ministers) are routinely published on gov.uk.

British Transport Police: Firearms

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many British Transport Police officers have (a) applied for and (b) been granted an individual firearms licence since 2011.

Jesse Norman: The British Transport Police currently has 155 authorised firearms officers. Their authority to carry firearms is derived from Section 58 of the Firearms Act 1968 as amended by Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014. There is no requirement for them to possess individual firearms certificates.Prior to the amendment to the Act, officers were required to obtain personal firearms licences. During the period in question, BTP records show that 56 officers applied for and were granted relevant firearms licences.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Department for Communities and Local Government: Equal Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the transparency document entitled DCLG's Gender Pay Gap Report 2017, if he will set out the pay gap data for median, mean and bonus pay by (a) grade and (b) profession.

Jake Berry: Holding answer received on 10 January 2018



Core Ministry gender pay gap data for March 2017 is available broken down by grade and profession and follows below.MHCLG core Ministry mean and median gender pay gap split by grade (a): GradeMean GPGMedian GPGSCS3******SCS211.9 per cent13.8 per centSCS12.6 per cent-1.3 per centGrade 61.8 per cent1.4 per centGrade 72.1 per cent4.3 per centSEO1.7 per cent3.6 per centHEO1.4 per cent0.0 per centEO2.9 per cent3.4 per centAO5.5 per cent5.0 per centGrand Total3.1 per cent5.1 per centMHCLG core Ministry mean and median gender pay gap split by staff professions (b): Staff ProfessionsMean GPGMedian GPGCommercial******Communications3.0 per cent10.4 per centDigital, Data and Technology******Economics******Finance-0.6 per cent-7.5 per centHuman Resources (HR)12.7 per cent11.7 per centKnowledge and Information Management (KIM)11.9 per cent3.6 per centOperational Delivery9.3 per cent9.5 per centPlanning0.5 per cent0.7 per centPolicy-1.0 per cent-3.6 per centProject Delivery6.0 per cent8.3 per centSocial Research-15.4 per cent-58.3 per centStatistics-5.4 per cent-26.8 per centGrand Total3.1 per cent5.1 per centMHCLG core Ministry mean and median gender pay gap for bonus payments split by grade (a): GradeMean Bonus GPGMedian Bonus GPGSCS3******SCS2******SCS148.8 per cent73.3 per centGrade 618.0 per cent20.6 per centGrade 713.5 per cent14.3 per centSEO-34.1 per cent-42.9 per centHEO-13.4 per cent-16.7 per centAO32.5 per cent83.3 per centEO8.4 per cent0.0 per centGrand Total27.1 per cent7.7 per cent MHCLG core Ministry mean and median gender pay gap for bonus payments split by staff professions (b): Staff ProfessionsMean Bonus GPGMedian GPGCommercial******Communications-0.6 per cent11.0 per centDigital, Data and Technology******Economics******Finance30.3 per cent-66.7 per centHuman Resources (HR)-37.7 per cent65.4 per centKnowledge and Information Management (KIM)******Operational Delivery-7.9 per cent0.0 per centPlanning22.3 per cent30.4 per centPolicy37.4 per cent-9.1 per centProject Delivery28.0 per cent-5.6 per centSocial Research******Statistics23.4 per cent0.0 per centGrand Total27.1 per cent7.7 per cent Information relating to bonus payments made during 2016/17 includes in-year cash awards, instant reward vouchers and end of year performance bonuses for a small group of staff.Gender pay data split by relevant staff professions has been produced using Office for National Statistics Civil Servie Statistical Data for March 2017.Please note that numbers relating to five individuals or fewer have been removed from these tables and replaced with ‘***’ in the interest of not identifying those concerned.

Housing: Construction

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 116748, how much of the £1.2 billion of funding for the Starter Home Land Fund has been spent to date.

Dominic Raab: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Temporary Accommodation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 118353, on Temporary Accommodation, how much of that fund has been designated for use by England excluding London; and by what date he plans that fund to be rolled out to the rest of England.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Half of the £100 million fund is being administered by the Greater London Authority, the remaining £50 million is for the rest of England and we will make this available, ready for the next financial year.

Housing: Students

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how newly built student accommodation is recorded in his Department's data set entitled Housing supply: net additional dwellings; whether each block of such accommodation counts as one unit or as a number of units corresponding to the number of students it accommodates; what steps his Department takes to ensure consistency in applying rules about recording student and other communal accommodation as net additional dwelling; and how many student accommodation units are included in his Department's most recent estimate of the number of net additional dwellings.

Dominic Raab: Consistency in applying the definitions, which can be found at the following links, is maintained by detailed guidance for local authorities who complete the data returns and through data validation and communication with the data providers.https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/net-supply-of-housinghttps://www.gov.uk/guidance/dwelling-stock-data-notes-and-definitions-includes-hfr-full-guidance-notes-and-returns-form

HM Treasury

Valuation Office Agency: Equal Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the transparency document entitled Valuation Office Agency's Gender Pay Gap Report 2017, if he will set out the pay gap data for median, mean and bonus pay by (a) grade and (b) profession.

Robert Jenrick: Gender pay gap data for the Valuation Office Agency for median, mean and bonus pay by (a) grade is set out in the attached table below. The Valuation Office Agency does not have any analysis of gender pay gap by (b) profession. A positive figure denotes that the mean, or median, figure for women is lower than for men; a negative figure denotes that the mean, or median, figure is higher for women than men. Both SCS and Fast Stream populations are fairly small and the median gap figures for bonus awards are affected by the fact that there are a limited number of bonus award levels. 2017 VOA Gender Pay Gap by Grade GradeMean gender pay gap Ordinary pay 31 March 2017Median gender pay gap Ordinary pay 31 March 2017Mean gender pay gap Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March 2017Median gender pay gap Bonus pay in the 12 months ending 31 March 2017AA-4.5%-13.5%-2.6%0.0%AO-5.6%-10.4%0.9%0.0%EO-4.0%-4.0%-17.2%-33.3%HEO0.3%-0.5%-10.7%0.0%Fast Stream-6.3%-5.8%-41.2%0.0%SEO2.1%-0.4%-3.0%-50.0%G7-0.4%0.0%-8.5%0.0%G6-0.8%-4.7%3.5%0.0%SCS3.6%9.9%13.6%0.0%

Treasury: Equal Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Gender Pay Gap Report 2016-2017: HM Treasury Group, if he will break down the data on the gender pay gap data for (a) median, (b) mean and (c) bonus pay by (i) grade and (ii) profession.

Robert Jenrick: The mean and median pay and bonus gaps for the Treasury Group, broken down by grade, are shown in the table below.  Mean Gender Pay GapMedian Gender Pay GapMean Gender Bonus GapMedian Gender Bonus GapAA/AO-5.4%0.0%-16.5%-60.0%EO-5.2%-6.9%25.6%24.1%HEO/SEO0.5%0.7%-5.5%8.0%GRADE 6/70.9%-2.7%28.3%0.0%SCS5.4%5.8%2.9%5.9% It is not possible to break this information down by profession as the information is not available. Background The Civil Service has been leading the way by publishing its gender pay gap figures for a number of years as part of the annual Civil Service statistics publication.The figures published in December are in response to the Government’s new reporting requirements for large employers in all sectors. The new requirements will provide unprecedented transparency, generate wider debate and encourage employers to take the action required to close the gap.Since April 2017 departments are required to publish data on the following:o Gender pay gap (mean and median averages)o Gender bonus gap (mean and median averages)o Proportion of men and women receiving bonuseso Proportion of men and women in each quartile of the organisation’s pay structure Building a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the people we serve is one of the Civil Service’s top workforce priorities. Its collective aim is to make the Civil Service the UK’s most inclusive employer by 2020. Its new Diversity & Inclusion Strategy outlines how it plans to achieve this. The Civil Service should create opportunities for all in a truly meritocratic way and reward all civil servants fairly, regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other personal characteristic. The Treasury is committed to fairness. In particular, promoting equality of opportunity for all and a culture which values differences. As an employer, we want to ensure our workforce is representative of the community it serves and attract and retain talented employees from a wide range of backgrounds and with diverse skills and experience The Treasury is committed to minimising the gender pay gap within the organisation. We have already made improvements to our pay system to shorten pay ranges and thereby improve internal equity. We have also set out an ambitious target of achieving representation of 50% female at every grade in the organisation as part of our Diversity and Inclusion action plan. A particular emphasis has been placed on increasing the representation of women in senior level positions and we have also launched several initiatives, including improving our diversity of graduate recruitment and ensuring greater representation of women in our talent programmes, to help achieve this. Over the last two years, we have already seen the number of women increase at SCS level by 3.2%. Since 31st March 2017 50% of our Directors and Director Generals are now women. Across the whole of the Civil Service, the overall median gender pay gap has narrowed over the past year, down from 13.6% in 2016 to 12.7%. This is significantly lower than the overall UK pay gap of 18.4% and 23.7% in the private sector.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Companies: Ownership

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to increase the number of staff at Companies House that monitor the accuracy of data on the beneficial ownership register for companies.

Margot James: Companies House has recently increased the number of staff that deal specifically with beneficial ownership (people with significant control) compliance activities. Companies House plans to further increase this figure over the coming months. These staff work closely with a number of other bodies who are also involved in ensuring compliance with legislation regarding beneficial ownership.

Patents: Fees and Charges

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to The Patents and Patents (Fees) (Amendment) Rules 2017, what assessment has made of the potential effect of the increase in fees on the number of patent applications.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: Prices

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason the Impact Assessment for the Draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill does not include statistical information on the (a) costs and (b) benefits of the proposals.

Andrew Griffiths: As set out in the Impact Assessment, the costs and benefits will depend on the detailed methodology the independent regulator Ofgem adopts to set the level of a tariff cap. The Government does not wish to prejudice the deliberations of Ofgem’s work in establishing the methodology, and has therefore not included quantified analysis of the costs and benefits in the Impact Assessment but has included a qualitative discussion.

Energy: Prices

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for what reason the Impact Assessment for the Draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill does not include an assessment of the potential merits of not including an appeals process to the Competition and Markets Authority.

Andrew Griffiths: It would not be normal for an impact assessment to include an analysis of the merits of different appeal processes.

Energy: Prices

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons his Department's impact assessment on the Draft Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill does not include an explanation for why it believes that Ofgem will be able to achieve an acceptable trade-off between the different criteria for setting the cap.

Andrew Griffiths: Ofgem will consult on the methodology for setting the cap, including how it can best achieve an acceptable trade-off between the different criteria for setting the cap.

Electricity Generation: Waste

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much energy has been produced from each energy from waste facility currently operating and receiving local authority waste.

Richard Harrington: The Department does not publish data on individual waste facilities. The Department estimates that in 2016 electricity generation from waste was 5,483GWh, with heat generation of 213.3 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). [1] [1] Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics 2017, Tables 6.4 and 6.6

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Equal Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the transparency document entitled Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Gender Pay Gap Report 2017, if he will set out the pay gap data for median, mean and bonus pay by (a) grade, (b) profession and (c) and whether the staff to whom that data applies are from (i) the core department or (ii) arms-length bodies.

Andrew Griffiths: The median and mean pay gap by grade for core BEIS, under the methodology used for gender pay gap reporting, are:GradeMean Pay GapMedian Pay GapAA/AO0.6%0.0%EO3.5%1.5%HEO/SEO3.6%4.0%G7/62.9%3.1%SCS10.9%3.5% GradeMean Bonus GapMedian Bonus GapAA/AO-8.6%-6.9%EO-13.7%-16.4%HEO/SEO8.5%3.8%G7/6-0.8%0.8%SCS-1.3%0.0% The Department does not hold any data on the pay gap, if any, by profession.It should be noted that the methodology used for Gender Pay Gap reporting differs from that used for considering Equal Pay cases. In addition the figures above do not compare staff doing the same or similar weighted work.

Solar Power: Kilmarnock and Loudoun

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 120003, how many photovoltaics installations through Green Deal plans provided by Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems were undertaken in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Claire Perry: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Home Energy and Lifestyle Management

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 120003, what steps he has taken to ensure that the installation of photovoltaics at those home complied with the funding rules of the Green Deal; and if he will make a statement.

Claire Perry: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Home Energy and Lifestyle Management

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 120003, on Home Energy and Lifestyle Management, how many of those homes received (a) partial write off and (b) full cancellation of Green Deal Finance loans.

Claire Perry: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Energy: Disability

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support disabled people with high energy costs.

Claire Perry: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Belgium: Diplomatic Relations

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the strength of the UK's diplomatic relations with Belgium.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK enjoys excellent diplomatic relations with Belgium. There have been numerous visits and we maintain regular contact with the Belgian government at all levels. We work closely on a range of issues including counter-terrorism, migration, energy and foreign policy.

Luxembourg: Diplomatic Relations

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the strength of the UK's diplomatic relations with Luxembourg.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK enjoys excellent diplomatic relations with Luxembourg. There have been a number of ministerial and Royal visits in both directions during the past year and we maintain regular contact with the Luxembourg Government at all levels. We work closely with Luxembourg on a range of issues including prosperity, defence, public diplomacy and foreign policy.

Netherlands: Diplomatic Relations

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the strength of the UK's diplomatic relations with the Netherlands.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK enjoys excellent diplomatic relations with the Netherlands. There have been numerous visits and we maintain regular contact with the Netherlands government at all levels. We work closely on a range of issues including counter-terrorism, migration, prosperity and foreign policy.The UK enjoys excellent diplomatic relations with the Netherlands. There have been numerous visits and we maintain regular contact with the Netherlands government at all levels. We work closely on a range of issues including counter-terrorism, migration, prosperity and foreign policy.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Brexit

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the (a) amount of time and (b) resources that his Department allocated to the production of impact assessments on the UK leaving the EU; and on what date work on those impact assessments started.

Sir Alan Duncan: Impact Assessments, typically related to specific new primary legislation before Parliament, are narrowly defined. For example, the Government laid an Impact Assessment alongside the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which can be found on the GOV.UK website.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which EU (a) Directives, (b) Regulations and (c) other legislation affecting his Department he is planning to propose (i) revocation and (ii) amendment of after the UK leaves the EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will retain EU law as it applies in the UK on exit day. We expect between 800 and 1000 statutory instruments will be required across Government to correct this retained EU law to ensure the statute book functions appropriately outside the EU. All Departments are engaged in this process. Once we leave the EU, we will make our own laws. As we leave the EU, the Government's EU exit legislative programme is designed to cater for the full range of negotiated and non-negotiated outcomes.

British Overseas Territories: Seas and Oceans

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with Government officials in the Overseas Territories on reducing the amount of waste plastic in oceans.

Sir Alan Duncan: Cutting plastic pollution in oceans is a key Government priority. We are working with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to engage with the Overseas Territories to help them develop and implement policies to reduce plastic waste. Active monitoring of marine waste and clean-up takes place in a number of OTs. Henderson Island in the Pitcairns is particularly badly affected by washed-up ocean plastics. We are working with the Government of the Pitcairn Islands to undertake a scientific study later this year to evaluate the rate and impact of plastics washing ashore there.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Travel

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last four years.

Sir Alan Duncan: The FCO’s expenditure on taxi, first class rail and business class air travel is detailed in the table below. The data on taxi travel shows the total global expenditure in the UK and all overseas Posts. The data on first class rail and business class air represents travel booked through the Government’s nominated travel agency.Financial YearTaxi TravelFirst Class Rail TravelBusiness Class Air Travel2013/14£1.4m£1,590£5.4m2014/15£1.3m£3,057£4.5m2015/16£1.7m£2,597£4.6m2016/17£1.5m£142£3.3m  FCO policy is that public transport should be used whenever possible  All FCO staff are directed to use standard class for rail travel unless there are exceptional circumstances e.g. illness, disability or where First class facilities are essential for working while travelling. In these exceptional circumstances, prior line management approval must be given. FCO staff travelling by air are required to book the lowest standard fare possible, subject to budget holder approval. As the FCO is present in over 170 countries there is oftern a need for long distance travel.

China: Animal Welfare

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on animal welfare standards in that country.

Mark Field: ​I have had no recent discussions on animal welfare in China with my Chinese counterpart. However my officials are in ongoing contact with Chinese officials and local Non-Governmental Organisations regarding animal welfare standards and the Illegal Wildlife Trade and the Foreign Secretary raised it with Vice-Premier Liu Yandong on 7 December.

Colombia: Peace Negotiations

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what technical support the UK Government is providing to the Colombian Government to ensure the establishment of the proposed Truth Commission in that country.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK is the biggest contributor to the UN Trust Fund, which provides support to the Truth Commission. Through the UN Office for Human Rights in Colombia, we also provide financial support for projects to enable victims to participate in the Peace Agreement’s truth, justice and reparation process, which includes the Truth Commission.

José Napoleón Tarrillo Astonitas

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations the Foreign Office has made to the Peruvian Government on environmental protection in that country as a result of the death of the deforestation campaigner José Napoleón Tarrillo Astonitas.

Sir Alan Duncan: Our Embassy in Lima is monitoring the case closely. We call on the Peruvian authorities to ensure a prompt and thorough investigation into the circumstances of Mr Tarrillo's death and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.We take environmental protection seriously and have raised environmental policy and human rights issues with the Peruvian Ministers of Environment, Culture, and Energy & Mining.

North Korea: Guided Weapons

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Japanese counterpart on the situation in North Korea; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: ​The Foreign Secretary met Japanese Foreign Minister Kono on 14 December for the annual UK-Japan 2+2 security and defence talks. The focus was on tackling global security issues, such as the threat posed by North Korea, and agreeing frameworks for greater bilateral security and defence cooperation.The UK and Japanese Ministers affirmed at the meeting that they would apply maximum pressure on North Korea to urge it to take concrete actions towards abandoning its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.

Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had any recent discussions with his international counterparts on the non-proliferation and reduction of nuclear weapons.

Sir Alan Duncan: We discuss nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament frequently with a wide range of partners across the international community through UK Embassies overseas, with Embassies in London, in international organisations and directly between capitals. We attended the first Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in Vienna in May 2017 where we engaged with a wide range of states on how we can together tackle the challenges we face on non-proliferation and disarmament, and enable access to the peaceful use of nuclear technology. We will also attend the second Preparatory Committee in Geneva in April for further discussions. We firmly believe that the best way to achieve a world without nuclear weapons is through gradual multilateral disarmament negotiated using a step-by-step approach and within existing international frameworks.

Nuclear Disarmament

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he will be making representations to the UN Conference on Disarmament in 2018.

Sir Alan Duncan: This year the UK will continue to work with international partners to press for key steps towards multilateral disarmament including the successful negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty in the Conference on Disarmament.

Africa: Diplomatic Relations

John Stevenson: What his diplomatic priorities are for Africa after the UK leaves the EU.

Sir Alan Duncan: UK and EU priorities in Africa will remain aligned, which makes a strong case for post-exit co-operation in certain areas. We will identify areas in which the UK can act more effectively bilaterally, which will transform the way we engage with Africa and demonstrate that we remain one of the leading international partners for the continent.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Official Hospitality

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of the expenditure on hospitality by his Department since its inception.

Mr Steve Baker: Hospitality expenditure is a locally managed area of expenditure, however, there are strict internal guidelines to ensure that value for money is always achieved.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Christmas

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse for Departmental Christmas (a) cards, (b) postage, (c) parties and (d) decorations and trees in 2017.

Mr Steve Baker: Expenditure for Christmas items such as those listed is taken from locally managed budgets, which are approved by delegated budget holders. All budget holders are reminded of the need to ensure value for money for the taxpayer before committing to any purchase.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Legatum Institute

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, which meetings the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of his Department held with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last six months.

Mr Steve Baker: Ministers from across Government are speaking with stakeholders from a variety of sectors, to understand their concerns and priorities regarding our EU exit. As part of this process, we have engaged with a range of think tanks.Details of Ministerial meetings are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which are publicly available on GOV.UK.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Brexit

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2017 to Question 118837, for what reasons no reference was made to market access assessments; and whether such assessments have been conducted.

Mr Robin Walker: We are undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work looking at the implications of UK withdrawal from the EU. The Government is examining all areas of the UK economy and seeking input from a wide range of businesses and industry bodies in order to inform our negotiations with the EU. Our overall analytical programme of work is comprehensive, thorough and is continuously updated. We have conducted a range of quantitative and qualitative analysis looking at the implications of EU Exit on the domestic economy. However, these are not in form of discrete market access assessments. The sector reports recently shared with Members and Peers - which, among other things, contain factual information describing each sector, and a summary of sector views of UK withdrawal - form part of this work.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Brexit

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the total cost was of compiling the sectoral analyses covering the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: As part of our work preparing to make a success of our departure from the European Union, we are carrying out a wide range of analysis. Officials in DExEU and other Departments across Whitehall continue to work to provide the most up to date evidence to inform our negotiations with the EU. This work is undertaken as business as usual and so is paid for out of the Department’s budget. The Department does not hold information centrally concerning other Departments’ expenditure. However, other departments’ budgets can be found on GOV.UK.

Legatum Institute

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish the minutes and other papers for the meetings between the Permanent Secretary at his Department and Shanker Singham of the Legatum Institute.

Mr Steve Baker: Details of these meetings have been published in the Departmental Transparency Returns, which can be found on gov.uk. We do not publish the minutes of officials’ meetings.

Attorney General

Forced Marriage

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Attorney General, how much money has been spent from the public purse on training members of the CPS and its agents on the criminalisation of forced marriage and the breach of  forced marriage protection orders since the coming into force of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014; what events took place relating to that training; and how many people attended those events.

Robert Buckland: The specific offence of forced marriage and breach of a Forced Marriage Protection Order came into force in June 2014 under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Since then, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has updated its legal guidance, developed e-learning and delivered training to its Area lead forced marriage prosecutors.Training workshops were delivered jointly with the police on Forced Marriage, Honour Based Violence and Female Genital Mutilation across all CPS Areas between July and December 2014. The workshops included input from stakeholders at a cost of £5,000.On 13 December 2017, a further masterclass was delivered to all CPS Areas to address the unique difficulties in prosecuting these crimes. This masterclass included input from stakeholders at a cost of £1,633.50. This training will be cascaded by the local Area forced marriage leads.The CPS’s Prosecution College, provides award-winning courses to CPS employees, and hosts the e-learning course, “Forced Marriage and Honour Based Violence”. To date 231 of its employees who were in post on 8 January 2018 had completed all elements of the e-learning course. The course was developed in-house which enables targeted and consistent training delivered to employees in an efficient and cost-effective way.The CPS will continue to train its staff in this critical area of work.

Department for Education

Office for Students

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications were received to serve on the board for the Office for Students.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Deployment

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve support for the families of servicemen and women during deployments.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Our Armed Forces are among the most extraordinarily talented and hard-working people in our society. We recognise the vital role that their families play, and that operational capability relies on recognising the Service person as part of a wider family unit. As we deploy our personnel on operations, they must have confidence that their families at home are able to access the right support if required. This is why we launched the first ever UK Armed Forces Families' Strategy in 2016, which focuses and coordinates activity to support Service families. Priorities for this work include childcare, partner employment and accommodation, which have consistently remained areas of interest for both the Service Families' Federations and the Ministry of Defence. In delivering the strategy we work closely with a number of external stakeholders to provide support to spouses and partners, such as those who are looking to gain employment, as we recognise that the demands of Service life can impact on the careers of family members.Welfare support is provided to families before and during deployments, including through social events and briefings. Welfare is the responsibility of the chain of command and is delivered in the first instance by the Commanding Officer, supported by the Unit Welfare Officer who makes sure that families know who they can contact for support. Further advice and networks are available through the single Services Community and Development Officers, Regimental Associations, charities, and the Armed Forces Families Federations. In addition, the Families Welfare Grant is used to enhance communication and engagement with families during deployments. It funds activities including distribution of welfare information such as leaflets, web pages and by the promotion of community activities. Social media (Facebook/Twitter) groups are also used regularly by the Services, information support centres (known as HIVES) and Service families to communicate and as a peer support network.Finally the Covenant Fund has assigned £4 million to projects that support 'Families in Stress', enabling specialist organisations such as Relate to provide immediate or local support to families experiencing episodes of significant strain. To date the Fund has awarded eleven grants, totalling almost £2 million, to specialist and expert charities.

Armed Forces: Cadets

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the amount of government funding was on Cadet Forces in each of the last seven years; how much of that funding was allocated to the Cadet Expansion Scheme in each of those years; and on what the other funding was spent in each of those years.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much government funding was received by public and private school Cadet Forces through the Combined Cadet Force in each of the last seven years; and on what that funding was spent.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We do not hold this information in the format requested.

HMS Ocean

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has approved the sale of HMS Ocean to Brazil.

Guto Bebb: Discussions with the Government of Brazil about the sale of HMS OCEAN are ongoing, but no decisions have been made.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the written evidence submitted by Maximus to the Work and Pensions Committee, PEA0532, if he will instruct the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments to record data on the number and constituency of customers who are accompanied to assessments.

Sarah Newton: It is the Centre for Health and Disability Assessment’s (CHDA) aim to provide all claimants with a good quality service. CHDA invite claimants to bring a companion to their assessment and will encourage the relative, carer or friend accompanying a claimant to be present during the assessment, if so desired by the claimant. The assessment and discussion will always be focused towards the claimant. There is no need to record this data as attendance of a companion is at the discretion of the claimant and is not a requirement of the assessment.

Personal Independence Payment: Gower

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people in Gower constituency had personal independence payments overturned as a result of (a) mandatory reconsideration and (b) an appeal hearing in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Sarah Newton: The data requested was provided in the answer of 12 September 2017 (UIN 6928). It should be noted that the appeals data provided by the Ministry of Justice in this response referred to claimants’ appeals heard in the hearing venue nearest to the appellants’ home address. For appellants identified as living in Gower those appeals are attributed to the Llanelli, Port Talbot or Swansea venues.

Work Capability Assessment

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people missed their appointment for a work capability assessment in the last twelve months; and what proportion of all work capability assessments that number represents.

Sarah Newton: Between December 2016 and November 2017, 775,715 face-to-face work capability assessments were completed in Great Britain. Over this period 282,223 people failed to attend a booked work capability assessment appointment.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people missed their appointment for a personal independence payment assessment in the last 12 months; and what proportion of all such assessments that figure represents.

Sarah Newton: Between November 1st 2016 and October 31st 2017, 42,380 claimants who were referred for a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment failed to attend their assessment. This accounted for 5% of all claims which were referred for assessment. Data is taken from the PIP computer system’s management information and covers PIP assessments where the initial decision was made between 1st November 2016 and 31st October 2017, the latest date for which published data is available. Figures include new claims and DLA (Disability Living Allowance) to PIP reassessment claims made under PIP Normal Rules.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 20 December 2017 to Questions 119457, 119458, 119459, and 119461, and with reference to the paper entitled Work and Pensions Select Committee PIP and ESA Assessments inquiry: Supporting Statistics, published by his Department on 4 December 2017, what mechanisms are in place to improve the conduct of personal independence payment assessments for people whose primary health condition is among those most likely to have a decision overturned at Mandatory Reconsideration.

Sarah Newton: DWP keep a very close eye on the providers of the PIP assessment to make sure that the quality of the service they provide is as high as it should be. We are continually working with the assessment providers to further improve the quality of assessments including clinical coaching, feedback and support available to each assessor. When a decision is overturned (either at Mandatory Reconsideration or Appeal) it does not necessarily mean the original decision was wrong. Many claimants provide additional evidence not available to the Assessment Provider/DWP. Mandatory Reconsideration figures also include claims where claimants have not attended their assessment or returned their forms.

Employment and Support Allowance: Motor Neurone Disease

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 July 2017 to Question 3475 on Employment and Support Allowance: Motor Neurone Disease,  if he will publish the process required for the 600 people with motor neurone disease who were in the support group for Employment and Support Allowance on 29 September when the severe conditions exemption commenced and are due a reassessment; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: It is important to ensure that decisions on whether someone meets the severe conditions criteria are based on a Work Capability Assessment. This way the claimant has the best opportunity to share with us the most up to date information about the functional impacts of their health condition. Guidance used by Healthcare Professionals, who undertake the Assessments, has been designed to have the least possible impact on claimants. We will ask claimants to complete a new health questionnaire, and where appropriate we will ask their General Practitioner or Specialist Healthcare Professional for further, supporting evidence, so that in the vast majority of cases we should be able to make a decision on whether someone meets the criteria without the need for a face to face assessment. I am meeting the Motor Neurone Disease Association in February to discuss the implications of the introduction of the severe condition criteria.

Social Security Benefits

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to protect claimants in the Employment and Support Allowance Support Group and its Universal Credit equivalent from financial loss if they engage in work-related activity and are subsequently transferred to the Work-Related Activity Group or its Universal Credit equivalent.

Sarah Newton: Where an ESA claimant in the Support Group or the UC equivalent chooses to undertake some form of work-related activity, we provide encouragement, help and support to assist the claimant to do so. Volunteering to undertake some work-related activity does not mean, in itself, that the claimant will be transferred to the Work-related Activity Group. ESA and UC claimants whose condition improves so that following a Work Capability Assessment they move from the Support Group to the Work-related Activity Group will receive the relevant rate of benefit. Where the date of claim is prior to 3 April 2017 that will include the work-related activity component and the UC equivalent.

Employment: Disability

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government paper Improving lives: the future of work, health and disability, published in November 2017, if he will consider the commissioning of specialist external providers to provide employment support to disabled people.

Sarah Newton: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to UIN 119269 on 20 of December 2017

Work Capability Assessment

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answers of 21 December 2017 to Questions 119554, 119555 and 119556 and with reference to the paper entitled Work and Pensions Select Committee PIP and ESA Assessments inquiry: Supporting Statistics, published by his Department on 4 December 2017, what mechanisms are in place to improve the conduct of work capability assessments for people whose primary health condition is among those most likely to have a decision overturned at mandatory reconsideration.

Sarah Newton: DWP monitor very closely the performance of the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) to make sure that the quality of the service they provide is as high as it should be. We are continually working with CHDA to further improve the quality of assessments for people with all types of health conditions and disabilities. CHDA conduct regular reviews of health care professionals’ assessments and provide one-to-one feedback to help them to continuously improve, additional coaching is provided if required and all healthcare professionals undertake an annual programme of continuing professional development.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

David Linden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 120384, if he will place in the Library copies of any printed materials his Department still holds which were used in the pensions education communications campaign.

Guy Opperman: The Pensions Education Campaign ran from 2001 to 2004, details of which the Department outlined in response on 21 December 2017, question 120384. Due to the time elapsed since the campaign, the Department no longer holds any printed copies of these products.

Department for Work and Pensions: Equal Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the transparency document entitled Department for Work and Pensions: Gender Pay Gap Report 2017, if he will set out the pay gap data for median, mean and bonus pay by (a) each specific grade and (b) profession.

Kit Malthouse: In response to a) each specific grade DWP published its Gender Pay Gap report showing an overall mean pay gap of 5.3%. As set out within the narrative of the report DWP is working hard towards reducing this pay gap further. Across our more junior grades we are transforming our pay structures, moving towards a single rate of pay within each grade, which currently results in a mean gender pay gap of 0.4% across grades AA-HEO. This will reduce even further as we start to reach these spot rates by 2019. The gender pay gap by grade is set out below. A ‘negative’ percentage represents a pay gap in favour of women. GradeMean Gender Pay GapMedian Gender Pay GapAA-0.1%0.0%AO-1.5%-3.1%EO-0.2%0.0%HEO1.2%2.5%SEO2.5%3.6%Grade 73.2%4.3%Grade 62.5%2.0%SCS9.2%7.2%DWP5.3%0.0% Payment of non-consolidated awards (bonuses) are paid in accordance with HMT and Civil Service pay guidance criteria. For delegated grades, end of year non-consolidated awards are paid dependent on an individual’s grade and performance: GradeAchieved AwardExceeded AwardAA£450£550AO£500£625EO£500£750HEO£500£800SEO£600£850Grade 7£600£1,150Grade 6£600£1,450 For SCS colleagues end of year non-consolidated awards are paid dependent on Band and performance with awards going to the top 25% performers: GradeAward amountSCS 1£10,000SCS 2£12,500SCS 3£15,000SCS 4£17,500 In response to b) professionsThe Department is not able to break down this level of information by profession which is not directly held within our Resource system.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his policy is on closing universal credit claims when income in any monthly assessment period results in a zero payment; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Work Capability Assessment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to paragraph 68 of the Government's report, Improving Lives: The Future of health, Work and Disability, published in November 2017, Cm 9526, if he will consult with disabled people (a) on the proposed changes to the work and capability assessment and (b) on those proposed changes ahead of the publication of the Government's proposed consultation on statutory sick pay.

Sarah Newton: In the Improving Lives: The Future of health, Work and Disability command paper we committed to work with external stakeholders to inform future changes to the Work Capability Assessment.We are taking forward policy development to create a statutory sick pay system which supports more flexible working, for example to support phased returns to work. We will bring forward a consultation on these changes, as well as any other SSP changes we identify in our wider work. As part of this consultation we will seek views from a range of people and organisations, including disabled people.

Statutory Sick Pay: Public Consultation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to publish the Government's proposed consultation on statutory sick pay.

Sarah Newton: As announced in ‘Improving Lives: The Future of Work, Health and Disability’, we want to see a reformed Statutory Sick Pay system (SSP), which supports more flexible working, for example to support phased returns to work. We are taking forward further policy development and will bring forward a consultation on these changes, as well as any other SSP changes we identify in our wider work, before bringing forward this reform. We are also considering Matthew Taylor’s further recommendations about SSP and how to achieve the appropriate balance of incentives and expectations are in place for employers. We will report back on preliminary work later this year.

Social Fund: Loans

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2017 to Question 118806, on Social Fund: Credit, how many loans were provided through the Discretionary Social Fund in each of the last seven years.

Kit Malthouse: Loans provided under the Discretionary Social Fund have been provided through both Budgeting Loans and Crisis Loans. However, Crisis Loans were abolished with effect from 31 March 2013 and there have been no new Crisis Loans issued after that date. The number of loans provided each year through the Discretionary Social Fund is published in Annex 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report. Links to the Social Fund Annual Report for each of the last seven years are given below: 2010/11: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214336/2011-annual-report-social-fund.pdf 2011/12: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214337/2012-annual-report-social-fund.pdf 2012/13: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209379/DWP_Annual_Report_on_the_Social_fund.pdf 2013/14: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/399612/social-fund-annual-report-2013-14.pdf 2014/15: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/437046/social-fund-annual-report-2014-2015.pdf 2015/16: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/552482/social-fund-annual-report-2015-2016.pdf 2016/17:  https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/630382/social-fund-annual-report-2016-2017.pdf

Mortgages: Interest Payments

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to make people in receipt of the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme aware of forthcoming changes to that scheme; and what assessment he has made of the long-term effect on the security of the recipients' homes as a result of people moving from a benefit to an interest-bearing loan.

Kit Malthouse: A managed transfer process has begun with all existing recipients of Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) benefit receiving information about the new scheme in advance. The exercise to give SMI claimants information about the new scheme began in July 2017 and will continue until mid-February 2018. Claimants are given information about how the SMI loan will work, about alternatives to the loan and organisations that can offer further information. This is followed up by a telephone call to explain the information and answer any questions. A leaflet containing Frequently Asked Questions is issued to support this informed discussion. SMI loans will be available to all claimants who currently qualify for SMI as a benefit. The new loans scheme will continue to provide robust protection against repossession to all eligible claimants in times of need. The level of support available will be calculated in the same way as under the current system and claimants and mortgage lenders will not see any difference in the payments they receive. There is no reason to expect lenders to behave any differently to now and we do not anticipate that this measure will lead to an increase in the number of homes that are repossessed. Claimants may change their mind whether to take or decline a loan at any time. Recovery of SMI loans will not be pursued until the property is sold or transferred. If the amount of equity available after the sale of the property is less than the amount due to be recovered the balance will be written off.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Regulation

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many regulations were introduced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many regulations were repealed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016.

George Eustice: Defra introduced a total of 217 statutory instruments and revoked a total of 353 statutory instruments in calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016; the breakdown is presented in the table below. The large number of revocations in 2015 were predominantly of already redundant regulation identified through the Red Tape Challenge programme. YearIntroducedRevoked or otherwise no longer in force201470792015972682016506Total217353

Animal and Plant Health Agency: Fees and Charges

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2017 to Question 118449, what estimate his Department has made of the change in the amount of money collected in fees by the Animal and Plant Health Agency under the Bovine Semen (England) Regulations 2007, as amended, between 2014 and 2016.

George Eustice: The level of fees charged and collected in a given financial year are a reflection on the amount of activity that is undertaken for the appropriate process at the published charge out rates. These rates have been unaltered for the past three years and the only variable is the amount of activity undertaken by the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s inspectors.

Animals: Diseases

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prepare for the implications of an outbreak of an animal disease in the UK after the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice: The Government has comprehensive arrangements for dealing effectively with outbreaks of animal disease. In relation to notifiable exotic diseases, these arrangements are consistent with those set out by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). After the UK leaves the EU the Government will retain the necessary powers required to tackle animal disease.

Circuses: Animal Welfare

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when he plans to review and report on The Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012; and what assessment the has made of the potential merits of introducing legislative proposals banning the use of wild animals in circuses.

George Eustice: The Government’s policy is to introduce via primary legislation a ban on the use of wild animals in travelling circuses as soon as parliamentary time allows. The Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 were introduced as a temporary measure while a bill was enacted. We intend to publish the Post Implementation Review of the 2012 Regulations in early 2018.

Dogs: Exports

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information he holds on the number of (a) consignments of dogs exported to Pakistan and (b) dogs within those consignments in each of the last three years.

George Eustice: In 2015 there were 15 consignments of dogs to Pakistan, with 15 animals exported. In 2016 there were 18 consignments of dogs, with 23 animals exported. In 2017, there were 23 consignments with 26 animals.

Fly-tipping

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent industrial fly-tipping.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency’s (EA) specialist crime unit uses intelligence and a range of technology to track down waste criminals, working with the police, partners and local councils. It also has powers to revoke licences and seize vehicles from people involved in waste crime. It inspects businesses to make sure their waste is managed lawfully. The EA has the power to prosecute individuals, businesses and companies who fly-tip. The EA leads on large scale fly-tipping. This means incidents of: More than 20 tonnes (about 20 cubic metres);More than 5 cubic metres of fibrous asbestos or 75 litres of potentially hazardous waste in drums or containers;Possibly linked to criminal business activity or organised crime. Fly-tipping not falling within these criteria is the responsibility of local authorities.

Fly-tipping

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the powers of local councils to prevent fly-tipping.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government is committed to tackling fly-tipping on a number of fronts. We work closely with local authorities and the Local Government Association is a member of the Defra chaired National Fly-tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG). Local authorities and the Environment Agency have a full range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping which have recently been strengthened. Following consultation in 2016 we gave local authorities the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small scale fly-tipping, and enhanced their ability to search and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. It is the responsibility of local authorities to use the powers available to them. The NFTPG has published guidance which sets out clearly the powers available to local authorities and other partners when tackling fly-tipping.

Electricity Generation: Waste

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2017 to Question 115103 on electricity generation: waste, what steps he is taking to ensure that less biodegradable waste is disposed of through incineration rather than through (a) composting and (b) anaerobic digestion.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Local councils have a statutory duty to collect household waste and dispose of it according to the waste hierarchy. This requires councils to take all reasonable measures to ensure that biodegradable waste, such as garden waste and food waste, is recycled through a) composting and b) anaerobic digestion, ahead of incineration. There has been an increase in the provision of garden waste and food waste collections, with 97% of councils in England providing dedicated garden waste collections and 50% providing dedicated food waste collections in 2016/17. While it is for councils to work with their householders to develop the levels of services required, the Government supports comprehensive collections of materials. In September 2016 the Waste and Resources Action Programme, as part of an industry-led group, published a Framework for Greater Consistency. This outlines a vision where every household in England can recycle a common set of materials including separate food waste.

Biodegradability

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what waste his Department classifies as biodegradable waste.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Data on biodegradable municipal waste to landfill is produced annually in accordance with the Waste Framework Directive, and published in our UK Statistics on Waste statistical release. Biodegradable municipal waste is defined based on an agreed set of European Waste Catalogue (EWC) codes to represent ‘municipal waste’, and biodegradability factors are applied to each code. The list of biodegradable municipal waste codes is summarised in the table below.  EWC codeCode description15 01 01paper and cardboard packaging15 01 05composite packaging15 01 06mixed packaging15 01 09textile packaging19 05 01non-composted fraction of municipal and similar wastes19 05 02non-composted fraction of animal and vegetable waste19 05 03off-specification compost19 05 99wastes not otherwise specified19 06 04digestate from anaerobic treatment of municipal waste19 06 05liquor from anaerobic treatment of animal and vegetable waste19 06 06digestate from anaerobic treatment of animal and vegetable waste19 06 99wastes not otherwise specified19 12 01paper and cardboard19 12 06wood containing dangerous substances19 12 07wood other than that mentioned in 19 12 0619 12 08textiles19 12 10combustible waste (refuse derived fuel)19 12 12other wastes (including mixtures of materials) from mechanical treatment of wastes other than those mentioned in 19 12 1120 01 01paper and cardboard20 01 08biodegradable kitchen and canteen waste20 01 10clothes20 01 11textiles20 01 25edible oil and fat20 01 26oil and fat other than those mentioned in 20 01 2520 01 37wood containing dangerous substances20 01 38wood other than that mentioned in 20 01 3720 01 99other fractions not otherwise specified20 02 01biodegradable waste20 03 01mixed municipal waste20 03 02waste from markets20 03 03street cleaning residues20 03 04septic tank sludge20 03 06waste from sewage cleaning20 03 07bulky waste20 03 99municipal wastes not otherwise specified

Agriculture: Taxation

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer with regard to the recommendations made on taxation by the Tenancy Reform Industry Group in October 2017.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State and I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a range of agricultural issues.

Plastics: Waste Disposal

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to standardise the collection and disposal of plastic items from the doorstep.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: While it is for local councils to work with their householders to develop the levels of services required, the Government supports consistent and comprehensive collections of waste and recycling. In September 2016 the Waste and Resources Action Programme, as part of an industry led group, published a Framework for Greater Consistency. This outlines a vision where a core set of recyclable materials (including plastic bottles and plastic packaging – pots, tubs and trays) from every household in England are collected and sorted cost effectively for onward reprocessing, using one of three standardised collection systems.

Bees: Fungicides

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to regulate Chlorothalonil and other fungicides after research from Cornell University showed the link between Chlorothalonil and other fungicides to the decline in bee populations.

George Eustice: All pesticides, including chlorothalonil and other fungicides, are subject to a stringent authorisation process before they can be placed on the market and used. Active substances are approved at EU level if they meet safety requirements and approvals are regularly reviewed. The UK is responsible for authorising products containing approved active substances. This involves a thorough assessment of the scientific evidence. If the risks to people or to the environment are unacceptable, the pesticide is not authorised. Possible risks to bees are considered in this process.

Biodiversity

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to use the biodiversity net gain approach to establish environmental performance criteria for farmers and landowners as part of his approach to public funding for agriculture.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In developing a new agri-environment scheme, we will consider how best to achieve it by setting and applying appropriate environmental performance standards. We will set out our plans in a Command Paper later this spring.

Nature Conservation

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will establish a new strategic framework for designating protected sites and species within UK environmental law after the UK leaves the EU.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill will ensure that the whole body of existing EU environmental law, including the Habitats and Wild Birds Directives, continues to have effect in UK law, providing businesses, communities and stakeholders with maximum certainty as we leave the EU. We will then have the opportunity, over time, to ensure our legislative framework is outcome driven and delivers on our overall commitment of improving the environment within a generation. The UK has a long history of environmental protection and we will safeguard and improve on this record. We will also continue to uphold all our obligations under international environmental treaties. Producing a 25 Year Environment Plan is key to setting out how we will improve our environment as we leave the EU and take control of our environmental legislation again.

Plastics: Recycling

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to increase public investment in reprocessing facilities for plastics as a result of the imposition of the ban on imported plastics by China.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Secretary of State made a written statement to Parliament on 8 January 2018 setting out the action the UK Government is taking in respect of the ban China has imposed on the import of certain types of waste, including post-consumer plastics.  The Government is contributing some £3 billion to waste management and recycling infrastructure via the Waste Infrastructure Delivery Programme. Among the projects supported via the programme are a number of material recovery facilities to help extract and sort recyclable material from residual waste, household recycling centres, as well as improved collection methods in some regions to help separate recyclable material at kerbside. The National Infrastructure Commission is considering waste as part of its National Infrastructure Assessment looking ahead to 2050. We will consider the Commission’s findings and respond to any recommendations as we develop future policy on resources and waste and will publish a resources and waste strategy later this year.

Cosmetics: Microplastics

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ban microbeads from (a) sunscreen and (b) all other leave-on cosmetic and personal care products.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: During the microbead consultation evidence on other sources of marine plastic pollution was also requested. We are working with the Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee (HSAC), industry and environmental groups, to review the evidence and better understand the sources and impacts of marine microplastics.

Home Office

Forensic Science

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date (a) she, (b) each Minister of her Department and (c) officials in her Department first became aware of alleged malpractice involving (i) Trimega and (ii) Randox Testing Services.

Mr Nick  Hurd: Home Office officials were made aware of alleged malpractice at Randox Testing Services on 12 January 2017. Home Office ministers were made aware on 17 January 2017. At this early stage, the scale of the alleged malpractice was not knownOn 19 January 2017, Home Office officials were made aware that malpractice may have occurred at Trimega. The available information regarding alleged malpractice at Trimega at this time was extremely limited. However, any potential impact was assessed to be outside the criminal justice system. When further information emerged in March 2017, Home Office officials informed Ministry of Justice officials, who then briefed their Ministers.

Public Spaces Protection Orders

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish updated guidance on the use of Public Spaces Protection Orders and Community Protection Notices.

Victoria Atkins: Refreshed statutory guidance for frontline professionals on the use of Public Spaces Protection Orders and Community Protection Notices and other powers to tackle anti-social behaviour provided by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 was published on 24 December 2017.

Asylum: Housing

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that accommodation for asylum seekers under contract with Compass is safe and quality checked.

Caroline Nokes: Accommodation providers are required to provide safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped accommodation that complies with the Decent Homes Standard in addition to standards outlined in relevant national or local housing legislation.The contract requires Providers to visit and inspect each property every month and UKVI inspects a significant proportion of properties each year to ensure standards are being met. Where asylum accommodation is found to be falling short of the required standards UKVI has procedures in place to inspect, investigate and quickly resolve when specific information is received and a contract management regime to monitor supplier performance and take measures where appropriate.

Immigrants: Employment

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the employer checking service for people seeking employment.

Caroline Nokes: Employers have various statutory duties to conduct checks on people seeking employment. These include the need to comply with Home Office regulations under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 on the prevention of illegal working, which involve checking specified documents which evidence a person’s right to work in the UK.The Home Office continues to operate a checking service for employers to confirm a migrant’s right to work where the individual has an outstanding immigration application, administrative review or appeal. The Home Office remains committed to strengthening and simplifying checks to better prevent illegal working, and continues to work closely with UK employers towards this objective.

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress the Migration Advisory Committee has made on its assessment of the labour market in relation to seasonal agricultural workers.

Caroline Nokes: On 27 July 2017, the Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to gather evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy. The MAC will advise on the economic and social impacts of the UK’s exit from the EU and also on how the UK’s immigration system should be aligned with a modern industrial strategy. It has been asked to report by September 2018 and to consider the possibility of interim reports.

Slavery: Victims

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to strengthen the first responder role as a result of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism announced in October 2017.

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, where the multi-disciplinary panels will be located as a result of the reforms to the National Referral Mechanism announced by the Government in October 2017.

Victoria Atkins: On 26 October 2016 the Government announced its plans for reform of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) confirming the Government’s commitment to markedly improving the identification of, and support provided to, victims of modern slavery. This includes strengthening the role of designated first responders by considering who should be a first responder and how they should be trained, and introducing independent panel of experts to review all negative decisions adding significantly to the scrutiny such cases currently receive. Detailed implementation plans for the reform programme are currently being developed, including in respect of the multi-disciplinary panels and further information will be announced in due course.

Human Trafficking: Children

Carolyn Harris: To ask The Secretary of State for The Home Department, if she will take steps to roll out Independent Child Trafficking Advocates nationally before 2019.

Victoria Atkins: Sarah Newton MP the then Minister for State for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability announced on 26 October that this Government remains committed to rolling out Independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs) nationally.To date we have implemented ICTAs in three early adopter sites (Greater Manchester, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and nationally in Wales) which have been running since January 2017. It is essential that we learn the lessons from these sites and implement the right model which best supports the specific and diverse needs of these incredibly vulnerable children. This is why we are evaluating the service provided in the early adopter sites, with the help of an Independent expert advisory panel, ahead of national rollout. The early adopter sites will continue to operate until January 2019.

Skilled Workers: Visas

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the suitability of the UK Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List for the current UK labour market.

Caroline Nokes: The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) reviews the Shortage Occupation List when commissioned to do so by the Government.The MAC has carried out two full reviews and four partial reviews of the Shortage Occupation List since May 2010. The MAC recently reviewed the teaching sector and published its report in January 2017, alongside an updated methodology on assessing labour market shortages, and published a review of nursing in March 2016.Further information about the MAC’s methodology and the reviews it has carried out are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/migration-advisory-committee

Home Office: Brexit

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the (a) amount of time and (b) resources that her Department allocated to the production of impact assessments on the UK leaving the EU; and on what date work on those impact assessments started.

Caroline Nokes: Since the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, officials across the Home Office have been assessing the impact of the referendum on its policies and operations. As part of this, on 27 July, the Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to gather evidence on patterns of EU migration and the role of migration in the wider economy, ahead of our exit from the EU. We have asked the MAC to report by September 2018 and flagged that interim reports throughout the period would be helpful as we develop future immigration arrangements that work for the whole of the UK.The Department will produce regulatory impact assessments to accompany changes in Government legislation in the usual way.

Home Office: EU Law

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which EU (a) Directives, (b) Regulations and (c) other legislation affecting her Department she is planning to propose (i) revocation and (ii) amendment after the UK leaves the EU.

Caroline Nokes: Government departments have been analysing the UK statute book and directly applicable EU law in their areas of responsibility to enable an assessment of the scale of the changes needed. This is likely to include the repeal, but also the amendment, of provisions in Acts but we are not in a position to give a sense of scale at this time.In the Government White Paper on the Repeal Bill ‘Legislating for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union’, published on 30 March 2017, we estimated around 800 - 1,000 EU-exit related Statutory Instruments will be required.

Free Movement of People

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the Government plans to introduce primary legislation on Irish citizens and immigration law after EU freedom of movement rules cease to apply to the UK.

Caroline Nokes: Irish citizens enjoy a special status in the UK distinct from that enjoyed by virtue of EU citizenship, reflecting the close social and cultural ties between the UK and Ireland. These rights, enjoyed reciprocally by UK and Irish citizens in each state, are provided for by national legislation. The agreement reached in Brussels in December has confirmed that these rights are preserved after the UK has left the EU. As announced in the Queens speech (27 June) an Immigration Bill will be introduced in the first session to allow for the repeal of EU law on immigration.

Road Traffic Offences: Internet

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will introduce a website similar to Operation Snap introduced in Scotland to help the public report road traffic offences in England.

Mr Nick  Hurd: The enforcement of road traffic offences is an operational matter for individual police Chief Officers. Many English Forces already provide similar online facilities for members of the public to report apparent motoring offences.

Visas: USA

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what arrangements she has made with the US Department of Homeland Security and Transportation Security Administration with regard to UK citizens' access to visas.

Caroline Nokes: Visas and immigration arrangements to the USA are a matter for the US government.The Home Office works closely with counterparts in Department of Homeland Security and Transportation Security Administration on a range of issues.

Police: Cadets

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much funding from the public purse the Volunteer Police Cadets received in each of the last seven years; and on what such funding was spent.

Mr Nick  Hurd: Individual police forces provide funding for the day-to-day running of volunteer police cadet units in their force areas from their own budgets. In August 2016, the Home Office awarded £1.8m from the Police Innovation Fund to Devon and Cornwall Police to enable the National Volunteer Police Cadet Programme team to develop a digital platform and establish a regional training network for volunteer police cadet units.Since 2010, the National Volunteer Police Cadet Programme has also benefitted from Cabinet Office and Department for Communities and Local Government grants to the Youth United Foundation, a charity supporting uniformed youth groups including the volunteer police cadets.

Fraud

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any funding for the new national economic crime centre will be allocated out of the budgets for the Serious Fraud Office or any of the other relevant agencies involved in the centre.

Mr Ben  Wallace: The National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) is a multi-agency initiative supported by enforcement and justice agencies across the piece through financial and/or staffing contributions. The new NECC has £6m allocated to it in 18/19. Decisions on the overall funding of the SFO, NCA and other law enforcement agencies is agreed through the Spending Review process.

Temporary Exclusion Orders

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many temporary exclusion orders have been imposed on people under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 in each year.

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether any permits to return have been issued under section 5 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015.

Mr Ben  Wallace: Temporary exclusion orders have been used several times since they were introduced in 2015.The last publication of the Annual Transparency Report on Disruptive and Investigative Powers published in February 2017 confirmed that the power had not been used as at the date of that publication.The next Annual Transparency Report, due for publication in Spring 2018, will confirm how many times the power has been used during 2017.The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 requires a permit to return to be issued to facilitate the return of a UK national who is subject to a temporary exclusion order, if the subject applies for one, or if they are being deported to the UK. Permits to return have been issued on several occasions.

Passports

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people had passports seized and temporarily retained under section 1 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.

Mr Ben  Wallace: Schedule 1 to the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 enables police officers at ports to seize and temporarily retain travel documents to disrupt immediate travel, when they reasonably suspect that a person intends to travel to engage in terrorism related activity outside the UK.Between February and December 2015, the power was exercised 24 times.We aim to publish figures on an annual basis, and we will publish information on the use of the power during 2016 and 2017 shortly in the 2018 Government transparency report.

Undocumented Workers

Yvette Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many penalties by type have been issued for employing illegal workers in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: Information on the number of civil penalties issued to employers for employing illegal workers in the financial years 2012/13 to 2016/17, and for the current financial year to the end of December, is in the attached table. The figures are for all civil penalties issued to employers in the periods shown, as different types of civil penalties do not exist. Financial yearsNumber of initial penalties issued2012/131,2702013/142,1492014/151,9742015/162,5942016/172,9332017/18 (up to 30/12/17)1,656Please note the figures are for penalties levied at the initial decision stage which may be reduced, cancelled, increased or reissued at the objection or appeal stage.

Asylum

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many outgoing Dublin III regulation transfers were made by the UK in 2017.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average duration was for the Dublin III regulation procedure from the issue of outgoing request to the UK to the transfer to the Member State responsible.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average duration was of the Dublin III regulation procedure from a Member State accepting responsibility to the transfer from the UK to the Member State responsible.

Caroline Nokes: The Dublin III Regulation is a long-standing mechanism between EU Member States to determine responsibility for examining asylum claims. It is not an application route for transfer to the UK. At present we do not publish data on cases covered by the Dublin Regulation. Eurostat, the EU’s statistics agency, regularly publishes Member State figures, which can be found at:http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Asylum_quarterly_report. The Commission has data up to, and including 2016. This shows the UK processed over 6,000 Dublin requests in 2016: over 4,200 outgoing requests to other Member States and almost 1,800 incoming requests. 2017 data is not yet available. Under the Dublin III Regulation, member states have two months from receiving a request from another participating Member State to accept or reject responsibility for processing the asylum claim. Once a Dublin request has been accepted, the Regulation provides that the sending Member State has six months to enact the transfer. The Home Office works closely with EU Member State partners to enact transfers as soon as possible and ahead of the six month timeframe.

Police Custody: North West

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the provision of tampons and sanitary towels is for women in custody at each police station in each constabulary in the North West of England.

Mr Nick  Hurd: Everyone who is held in custody should be treated with dignity and have their needs respected. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) Code of Practice C sets out guidelines on the care and treatment of detained persons in police custody. Code of Practice C and H, in particular, draw attention to the College of Policing’s Detention and Custody Authorised Professional Practice (APP), which provides more detailed guidance on matters concerning detainee healthcare and treatment. This includes the expectation that officers consider the effect of menopause or menstruation on female detainees’ welfare.  In relation to the provision of sanitary protection in police stations in the North West of England, the Home Office does not centrally hold information on individual force policies and procedures. However, on 21 December 2017, the National Policing Lead for Custody, ACC Nev Kemp, wrote to all Chief Constables seeking information about sanitary protection arrangements in their respective force areas. Responses to the information request will contribute to the development of new comprehensive guidance for officers, issued by the NPCC, in consultation with women’s groups and other organisations.

Police Custody: Sanitary Protection

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that police services provide access to sanitary care products and washing facilities to all female detainees who are menstruating.

Mr Nick  Hurd: Everyone who is held in custody should be treated with dignity and have their needs respected. The Home Office is working closely with the Independent Custody Visiting Association (ICVA) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) to address concerns raised about hygiene and sanitary protection arrangements for female detainees in police custody.  In order to achieve greater consistency across the country, the NPCC is currently consulting forces on their policies and procedures concerning hygiene and sanitary protection with a view to developing new comprehensive guidance for officers.Home Office officials are considering whether any revisions to PACE Code C are required to ensure that the specific needs of women in detention are recognised and that there are clear statutory guidelines for police practice, taking into account our duties under the Equality Act 2010.  Alongside this work, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire Rescue Services (HMICFRS) are considering increasing the level of scrutiny when conducting custody inspections to ensure the rights of women are protected and they are treated with dignity. This would involve looking in more detail at operational practices in police custody suites.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Buildings

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2017 to Question 118337, on Scotland Office: Buildings; what the equivalent costs were for the previous five years.

David Mundell: The cost of running the Scotland Office buildings for the five years previous to 2016-17 was as follows:2015-16Melville Crescent£ 178,614.71Dover House £1,018,097.72 2014-15Melville Crescent£254,502.50Dover House £695,759.63 2013-14Melville Crescent£441,257.73Dover House £363,878.24 2012-13Melville Crescent£368,536.75Dover House £514,693.29 2011-12Melville Crescent£341,298.11Dover House £507,410.07

Cabinet Office

Regulation

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many regulations have been repealed since July 2014.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many new regulations were introduced in calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many regulations were repealed in calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Mr David Lidington: Cabinet Office does not maintain a central database of all regulations made and repealed. All secondary legislation is available at www.legislation.gov.uk . The regular business impact target reports available on gov.uk include details of the regulatory provisions that have come into force or ceased to be in force.

Cabinet Office: Social Mobility

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department has taken to improve social mobility in each of the last seven years.

Mr David Lidington: The Cabinet Office is responsible for creating an exceptional Civil Service, improving its capability and effectiveness. A diverse and inclusive workforce, which is representative of the communities we serve, is critical to achieving this aim. Our flagship Fast Stream graduate scheme, managed by the Cabinet Office has increased diversity of its graduate recruits over recent years and this year’s cadre is more diverse than ever. The Cabinet Office also manages the Fast Track apprenticeship Programme, offering over 700 high quality and varied apprenticeships a year to individuals from a diverse range of background and experiences. In 2010 we established the multi-award winning Summer Diversity Internship programme (SDIP), which amalgamated smaller separate internship schemes for students with a disability or from BAME communities. The programme has grown and now also offers internships to people from lower socio-economic background – these internships are an important channel for showcasing work in the Civil Service to talented people from underrepresented groups.Furthermore, we have implemented in full the recommendations of independent research carried out by The Bridge Group, to increase social mobility in the Fast Stream.In 2015 we streamlined and shortened the Fast Stream assessment process, opened an assessment centre in Newcastle and since then we have grown our approach to promoting a career in the Civil Service through outreach activities at universities with high concentration of students from disadvantaged background. In March 2016 through a refresh of the Civil Service Talent Action Plan, our plan towards being the UK’s most inclusive employer, we set out an ambitious range of actions to increase social mobility in the Civil Service and beyond. In October 2017 we published our Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, which builds on the significant advances we have made already and sets out a plan of action across the twin priorities of greater representation from people from all backgrounds and inclusion in the Civil Service workforce. The Strategy commits to establishing a baseline of SEB data for the Civil Service by 2020.

Cabinet Office: Travel

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on (a) taxis, (b) first class train tickets and (c) business class air travel in each of the last four years.

Mr David Lidington: Before travel is booked members of staff are asked to consider whether video conferencing, Google Hangouts or meeting rooms with telephone conferencing facilities could negate the need to travel. The CO travel provider ensures that our travel policy is embedded within their booking processes to ensure compliance is maximised. Following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the following information is held for Cabinet Office corporate travel contracts (travel data outside of the travel corporate contracts is not readily available and could only be acquired at a disproportionate cost). a) TaxisThe guidance for using a taxi for official travel allows for the use of a taxi when:you are outside of normal working hours (before 6am and after 9pm)no other suitable method of public transport is available, andtravel by private vehicle or self-drive hire car is not possible and/or is not cost effective, and either:you are transporting heavy luggage or official business equipment, or the saving of official time is important and can be justified on cost grounds.This guidance is embedded in the supplier booking process. Taxi costs2013-2014 £78,955.132014-2015 £89,988.762015-2016 £87,981.442016-2017 £92,348.78  b) First class train tickets The Cabinet Office policy is that all rail journeys should be Standard Class. First Class is only permitted if they are cheaper than Standard Class tickets First class train ticket costs2013-2014 £40,937.172014-2015 £45,252.202015-2016 £37,084.952016-2017 £30,912.25  c) Business class air travel The Cabinet Office policy is that for flights less than 5 hours, all journeys should be Economy Class. For flights more than 5 hours, Economy Premium is permitted. Business class air travel costs2013-2014 £941,171.112014-2015 £832,884.992015-2016 £479,220.072016-2017 £474,427.33

Prosperity Fund

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have travelled abroad in relation to projects organised through the Government's Prosperity Fund since that fund was established.

Mr David Lidington: 46 civil servants have travelled abroad in order to support the design and delivery of Prosperity Fund projects since the Fund was established in April 2016.

Prosperity Fund

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the average cost has been of each project organised through the Government's Prosperity Fund since that fund was established.

Mr David Lidington: For projects delivered in financial year 2016-17, the average spend was approximately £111,000. The Prosperity Fund’s recent Annual Report provides more detail on the first year of projects and how multi-year programmes are being established. The report can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prosperity-fund-annual-report-2016-to-2017

Prosperity Fund

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many contracts were put out to tender for the purpose of completing projects organised by the Government's Prosperity Fund during 2017.

Mr David Lidington: The information required to answer this question is not held centrally by the Prosperity Fund Management Office and can only be collated accurately at a disproportionate cost. For the first year of projects (2017), commercial activity was devolved to a number of government departments and across the Foreign and Commonwealth Office network

Prosperity Fund: Behavioural Insights Team

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many projects organised through the Government's Prosperity Fund have included a partnership with the Behavioural Insights Team since that fund was established.

Mr David Lidington: Eight Prosperity Fund projects have involved a partnership with the Behavioural Insights Team.

Members: Correspondence

Alan Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on the target timescales for Ministerial responses to be sent to letters received from hon. Members.

Mr David Lidington: The Handling Members Correspondence guidance is available on GOV.UK and was last updated in March 2016. This states that all correspondence received from hon. Members should be responded to within a maximum of 20 working days.

Cabinet Office: Equal Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his Department's transparency document entitled Gender pay gap report published on 18 December 2017, if he will set out the data on ordinary pay and bonus pay by (a) grade and (b) profession.

Mr David Lidington: The pay data for men and women by grade is set out below:GradeNumber of men (% of men who work in this grade)Average hourly pay for men who work in this gradeNumber of women (% of women who work in this grade)Average hourly pay for women who work in this gradeAA/AO65 (2%)£8.0592 (3%)£7.97EO205 (6%)£9.60261 (8%)£9.61HEO/SEO440 (14%)£12.73489 (15%)£12.75Grade 6/7652 (20%)£20.74573 (18%)£20.15SCS (centrally managed only)146 (4%)£52.28103 (3%)£42.24Other grades (professional/fast stream)120 (4%)£24.98106 (3%)£24.54Total (including those with unknown grade)1628£18.451624£16.77   The bonus data for men and women per grade is set out below:Grade (increasing seniority)Number of men who received a bonus who work in this gradeNumber of women who received a bonus who work in this gradeAA/AO1823EO6295HEO/SEO202241Grade 6/7254269SCS (centrally managed only)5231Other grades (professional/fast stream)2934Total617693  Data on professions is not available as it not a mandatory requirement for Cabinet Office staff to record this electronically.

Carillion

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the position of Crown Representative to Carillion was vacant during the last 12 months.

Mr David Lidington: This Government recognises the importance of managing relationships with Strategic Suppliers and their performance on a cross-Government basis, and has developed a range of strategies to do this, including the use of Crown Representatives. The role of Crown Representative for Carillion was vacant for three months between August and November 2017. During this period, the Crown representative responsibilities were covered by the Government’s Chief Commercial officer and the Cabinet Office Director of Markets and Suppliers.

Department for International Trade

Visits Abroad

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, which overseas trips Ministers of his Department have made since July 2016; and what were the costs of each such trip.

Greg Hands: Staff at the Department for International Trade are located across more than one hundred countries and as we prepare to leave the EU, our ministers and Department for International Trade staff regularly travel overseas to build relationships with key global trading partners.This includes through the 14 trade working groups we have set up across 21 countries to advance the UK's trade and investment relationships and scope out the potential for future free trade agreements.Details of visits made by my Ministerial colleagues and I are published on the Gov.UK website and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-international-trade&publication_type=transparency-dataAll Ministerial journeys adhere to Cabinet Office rules on international travel.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Sports: Children

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2017 to Question 118752, on Sports: Children, how many children the (a) Families Fund and (b) Potentials Fund aims to support; and how many schools those children attend.

Tracey Crouch: The Families Fund and the Potential Fund are new investment approaches. Projects apply directly to Sport England for funding and are then assessed against a range of criteria. Both the Families Fund and Potentials Fund are still in the early stages of investment and Sport England will work with successful projects to understand their reach and impact as they are rolled out. 16 awards totalling over £2.1m have so far been made from the Potentials Fund. This was announced in November 2017. Sport England is currently assessing applications to the Families Fund which will make available awards of between £50,000-£500,000. Final decisions on projects to be awarded funding will be made in March 2018.

Data Protection: EU Law

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the readiness of organisations and businesses to implement the General Data Protection Regulation.

Margot James: The Government and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) recognise the challenges facing organisations across the UK economy in their preparations for the Data Protection Bill and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The ICO is leading on providing guidance and support to UK organisations and have already published a number of resources on the Commissioner's website (ico.org.uk) to help organisations prepare. The ICO has: launched a dedicated helpline service for smaller organisations; updated its 'SME toolkit' to reflect the requirements of the GDPR; simplified its "12-step" GDPR preparation guidance; and published tailored guidance for charities. There is still more to do in this space and the Government will continue to support the ICO to ensure the UK is prepared.

Gaming Machines

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of Sate for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate the Government has made of the fiscal impact of each of the four options for reducing the maximum stake on fixed odds betting terminals set out in its consultation on maximum stakes for such terminals published on 31 October 2017.

Tracey Crouch: I refer the Rt Hon member to the answer to PQ 115452 on 28 November 2017 .

Scout Association: Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding the Scout Association received from the Government in each of the last seven years; and the purposes for which that funding was provided.

Tracey Crouch: The Scout Association received £1,288,573 in FY 13/14 as part of the Department for Communities and Local Government-funded Youth United Foundation Social Inclusion Programme. This Programme was designed to increase young people’s access to voluntary youth activities in a number of targeted areas of deprivation across England. In 2014, the Cabinet Office launched the £10 million Uniformed Youth Social Action Fund designed to create new uniformed youth group units. The grant was distributed by Youth United Foundation and included two funding rounds in FY 14/15 and FY 15/16. The Scout Association received the following funding during the lifetime of the fund: PhaseFundingFinancial Year PurposeUniformed Youth Social Action Fund Round 1£1,379,6372014/2015Creation of places for harder to reach young people.Uniformed Youth Social Action Fund Round 2£445,4202015/2016Piloting innovative approaches to engage young people with physical or learning disabilities.  The Scout Association also received £159,005 in FY 15/16 and £123,245 in FY 16/17 as part of the Department for Education’s Character Grant scheme. This funding was for a project entitled Character by Doing, a 12 month pilot project led by the Scout Association in partnership with the independent think-tank Demos and six schools to trial a schools-based model of Scouting in areas of deprivation.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much Government funding has been allocated to the National Citizen Service in each of the last seven years; how that money was allocated; and what the objectives were for that spending.

Tracey Crouch: Information about Government funding for NCS is available in the published accounts for Cabinet Office (2010/11 - 2015/16) and DCMS (2016/17), copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House. Government allocates NCS Trust an annual budget, based on projected participation rates, within the Spending Review financial settlement for that year. Each year NCS Trust is funded to deliver an agreed number of NCS participants, to deliver positive impacts for participants and to improve the overall value for money of the programme.

Arts: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much Arts Council England spent in each English parliamentary constituency in each of the last 10 years.

John Glen: Information regarding Arts Council England's grant payments can be found at: www.artscouncil.org.uk

Football: Finance

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding the Football Foundation has allocated to each English parliamentary constituency since its creation.

Tracey Crouch: The Football Foundation charity which is the recipient of joint funding from the DCMS, The Football Association and the Premier League has provided over £595million in total to the 533 English constituencies since its inception in 2000. The table attached provides an individual breakdown of this.



Funding by Constituency 
(PDF Document, 108.8 KB)

Voluntary Work: Young People

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost to the public purse is of independent evaluations of the National Citizens Service in each year since that programme began.

Tracey Crouch: Departmental records show that £3,000,000 has been allocated to evaluation since the creation of the National Citizen Service.

Big Society Capital

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether any of the £135 million announced by her Department on 4 January 2018 as pledged to Big Society Capital to fund stable and long-term accommodation for vulnerable groups has previously been allocated or announced.

Tracey Crouch: The release of a new tranche of £330m from dormant accounts to be distributed across the UK, announced on 4 January, includes an allocation of £135m to Big Society Capital. £300m of dormant account funding has previously been transferred to Big Society Capital. The allocation from the new tranche of dormant accounts will meet the intention announced by the Prime Minister in 2012 to provide £400m to Big Society Capital, and provides an additional £35m. Previous announcements on the government’s funding commitment to Big Society Capital were not specific to housing, and Big Society Capital’s intention to use this funding to provide stable and long-term accommodation homes for vulnerable people, as well as to support local charities and social enterprises, has not previously been announced.

Department of Health

Alcoholic Drinks: Minimum Prices

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of minimum unit pricing of alcohol on social inequalities related to alcohol misuse.

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of minimum unit pricing of alcohol on heavy drinkers from low income groups.

Steve Brine: Public Health England published an evidence review on the public health impact of alcohol and the effectiveness of policies for reducing alcohol-related harm in December 2016. The review concluded that reducing the affordability of alcohol is the most effective way of reducing alcohol harm and targeted pricing measures are particularly effective at reducing harm in those groups most at risk. The review also found that targeting price increases at the cheapest alcohol is very effective and cost-effective and is able to substantially reduce harm in heavy drinkers without affecting moderate drinkers or the price of alcohol sold in pubs and bars. Modelling studies by the University of Sheffield on the impact of minimum unit price was shown to have a positive impact in closing the health inequalities gap between those in the highest and those in the lowest socioeconomic groups. These studies are available at:https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.661445!/file/Final_mup_iba_report.pdfMinimum unit pricing and its effects will continue to remain under review pending the impact of its implementation in Scotland.

Healthy Start Scheme

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) pregnant women, (b) women with a child under 12 months and (c) children from six months to four years old have received Healthy Start vitamins in each of the last 10 years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Healthy Start vitamins are offered to pregnant women (at least 10 weeks into pregnancy) and families with a child under four years old are eligible for the Healthy Start scheme, if they are claiming any of the following benefits:- Income Support;- Income-based Job Seekers Allowance;- Child Tax Credit (with an annual family income of £16,190 or less); and- Universal Credit (with family take-home pay of less than £408/month).Anyone under 18 and pregnant is also eligible for Healthy Start, regardless of whether they receive any of the above benefits. The information is not available in the format requested.

Malnutrition

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November 2017 to Question 111553, what steps the Government is taking to prevent cases of malnutrition.

Steve Brine: The Government is taking a number of steps to prevent cases of malnutrition and ensure that people, particularly the young, the vulnerable and the elderly, are getting an adequate diet. Through the Healthy Start programme, the Government provides a nutritional safety net to hundreds of thousands of pregnant women, families and children under four who are from low income households. For example, Healthy Start vitamin vouchers are offered for free to Healthy Start beneficiaries. Vitamin tablets are available to pregnant women and women with a child under one year old, and children’s vitamin drops are available for those between six months and four years old. Some 1.1 million children get free school meals, and the Government is investing £26 million in breakfast clubs. The School Fruit and Vegetables scheme provides 2.3 million children with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables each day at school. This contributes towards the recommended five portions a day and helps encourage healthier eating for life. The nursery milk scheme also provides a free daily portion of milk to 1.5 million children and babies. Important guidance has been published on tackling malnutrition. For example, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence 2012 quality standard 'Nutrition support in adults’ provides advice to the National Health Service to help identify patients who are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. NHS England published guidance in 2015 on improving the delivery and commissioning of nutrition and hydration care in acute services and the community. The Government have provided £500,000 to the charity Age UK’s Malnutrition Taskforce to reduce malnutrition among older people and we will continue to train all health staff so early action can be taken. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 requires care homes to make sure that people have enough to eat and drink to meet their nutrition and hydration needs and receive the support they require to do so. The Care Quality Commission can prosecute breaches. Government advice on a healthy, balanced diet is encapsulated in the Eatwell Guide. This shows the proportions in which different types of foods are required to have a well-balanced and healthy diet. Further information is at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-eatwell-guide

Smoking

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the Tobacco Control Plan for England will be funded.

Steve Brine: Delivery of the Tobacco Control Plan for England will be funded through existing budgets. In addition, the Department plans to provide funding under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968 to fund eligible organisation(s) to support implementation of the plan.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that medical students are acquiring the basic clinical skills to make a diagnosis of ME/CFS.

Stephen Barclay: The standard of medical training is the responsibility of the General Medical Council, which is an independent statutory body. This includes setting the standards of education at undergraduate level and approving medical school curricula, which emphasise the skills and approaches that medical students and newly qualified doctors must develop in order to deal effectively with whatever is presented to them and ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.

Department of Health: Equal Pay

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his Department's transparency document entitled Gender Pay Gap Report 2016-2017, if he will set out the pay gap data for median, mean and bonus pay by (a) grade and (b) profession.

Stephen Barclay: In accordance with the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017, the Department published in December 2017 gender pay gap figures including mean gender pay gap in hourly pay, median gender pay gap in hourly pay, mean bonus gender pay gap, and median bonus gender pay gap in the publication Gender Pay Gap Report 2016-2017. These figures related to the core Department and its executive agencies. We do not centrally hold any information on individuals’ professions so are unable to provide any gender pay gap information by profession. We are able to provide these figures at each effective grade for the Department and its Executive Agencies. Mean Gender Pay Gap in Hourly Pay 14.2%byGradeAAAdministrative Assistant-2.5% AOAdministrative Officer-1.5% EOExecutive Officer0.8% HEOHigher Executive Officer0.1% SEOSenior Executive Officer1.7% FSFast Stream-6.4% G7Grade 71.9% G6Grade 61.7% SASpecial Advisors- SCS1SCS Pay Band 13.3% SCS2SCS Pay Band 27.2% SCS3SCS Pay Band 316.6% SCS4SCS Pay Band 4-25.0% Median Gender Pay Gap in Hourly Pay 13.3%byGradeAAAdministrative Assistant-9.4% AOAdministrative Officer-0.1% EOExecutive Officer-0.2% HEOHigher Executive Officer0.0% SEOSenior Executive Officer2.7% FSFast Stream-0.1% G7Grade 72.6% G6Grade 61.6% SASpecial Advisors- SCS1SCS Pay Band 13.0% SCS2SCS Pay Band 25.7% SCS3SCS Pay Band 318.0% SCS4SCS Pay Band 4-25.0% Mean Bonus Gender Pay Gap 33.1%byGradeAAAdministrative Assistant84.5% AOAdministrative Officer30.2% EOExecutive Officer-0.2% HEOHigher Executive Officer5.1% SEOSenior Executive Officer0.8% FSFast Stream-9.4% G7Grade 79.5% G6Grade 6-13.6% SASpecial Advisors- SCS1SCS Pay Band 124.5% SCS2SCS Pay Band 2-23.0% SCS3SCS Pay Band 3-45.0% SCS4SCS Pay Band 4- Median Bonus Gender Pay Gap 10.4%byGradeAAAdministrative Assistant0.0% AOAdministrative Officer9.0% EOExecutive Officer46.7% HEOHigher Executive Officer35.7% SEOSenior Executive Officer-59.1% FSFast Stream-38.5% G7Grade 70.0% G6Grade 68.1% SASpecial Advisors- SCS1SCS Pay Band 10.0% SCS2SCS Pay Band 20.0% SCS3SCS Pay Band 30.0% SCS4SCS Pay Band 4-

Prescription Drugs

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has received any representations on difficulties experienced by GPs in obtaining (a) diamorphine and (b) other prescription drugs; and whether he is taking steps to increase the ease of access to such drugs by GPs.

Steve Brine: The Department has not received any queries on behalf of general practitioners about diamorphine supplies. However, we are aware that supply issues do occasionally occur with prescription drugs. The Department works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, clinical experts, and others operating in the supply chain to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the impact on patients is minimised when they do arise.

Care Homes: Inspections

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many residential care homes inspected by the Care Quality Commission have been rated (a) inadequate and (b) outstanding in the last 12 months.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has given the following response: Between 1 January 2017 and 8 January 2018, the CQC has inspected and rated 8,730 residential social care locations. Of those, 173 were rated as outstanding and 541 were rated as inadequate.

NHS Trusts: North West

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the number  of Overseas Visitors Managers employed by each acute NHS Trust in the North West as of 31 December 2017.

Stephen Barclay: The Department does not hold information on the number of Overseas Visitors Managers employed by each acute National Health Service trust in the North West.

Ambulance Services: North West

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Answer of 24 January 2017 to Question 59987 and pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2017 to Question 106993, what steps his Department has taken on the provision of ambulance services as part of NHS planning arrangements for winter 2017-18 and operational resilience planning to ensure the health and social care system is adequately prepared to cope with winter pressures in the North West; and what the avergage waiting times were for ambulances in that region on each day between 23 December 2017 and 2 January 2018 inclusive.

Stephen Barclay: This year the National Health Service was better prepared than ever before to meet the challenges of winter. The NHS and the Department undertake rigorous planning each year, putting in place robust plans to ensure resilience throughout the winter period. This planning includes ambulance trusts. Additionally, put in place for this year is a revised escalation framework encompassing all levels of the system – local, regional and national – to ensure a greater standardisation of response to winter pressures. This is overseen by the newly formed, clinically led, National Emergency Pressures Panel. NHS England publishes ambulance waiting time data on a monthly basis, and will publish data for the month of December 2017 on Thursday 11 January 2018. The data will be available online at the following website: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/

Child Rearing

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will introduce a Minister for the first 1001 Days to lead joint work with the Department for Education on that issue.

Jackie Doyle-Price: As Minister with responsibility for children’s health in the Department of Health and Social Care. I and my officials work closely with colleagues in the Department for Education on a range of projects and workstreams aimed at improving early year’s health. For example, the Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England are working closely with the Department for Education to take forward actions to address the speech, language and communication needs of young children. This is to help close the development and word gap at age five between more and less advantaged children, as outlined by the then Secretary of State for Education (Justine Greening MP) when she launched the Social Mobility Action Plan in December 2017.

NHS: ICT

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to protect (a) confidential patient records and (b) NHS services from (i) meltdown and (ii) spectre vulnerabilities in NHS computer processors.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital published an advisory on the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities for all health and care organisations on 4 January 2018, and issued a further email bulletin on 5 January 2018. This recommended that health and care organisations implement patches in a prioritised manner.